This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Diagnosis  • Middle/ External Ear Disorders  • Radiology of Head & Neck  • Otolaryngology/ Head & Neck Surgery, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(2):213.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Diagnosis: Fibromatosis

Fibromatosis, or desmoid tumor, which is named for its hard tendonlike appearance, is a rare condition, with an estimated incidence of 2 to 4 cases per million patients per year.^1-2 A hereditary propensity toward abnormal connective tissue repair incited by trauma and growth response to sex steroid hormones has been proposed as a likely cause.³ Approximately 10% to 15% of extra-abdominal desmoid tumors are located in the head and neck region. They are firm, locally invasive, usually well-differentiated overgrowths of fibrous tissue with a tendency to erode bone and soft tissue, putting vital structures in the head and neck area at risk.

Histologically, desmoid tumors are generally unicentric, firm, nonencapsulated, poorly defined masses of gray-white tissue. Microscopic examination reveals benign infiltrating proliferations of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts that lack nuclear or cytoplasmic features of malignancy and have no metastatic potential. The lesions are poorly circumscribed and tend to infiltrate adjacent muscle . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

Radiology Quiz Case 2
Gautam J. K. Tawari, Sanjiv Kumar, and Arcot Maheshwar
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(2):211.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT